The European Commission said today that it is slashing formalities for cross-border registration of cars.
"Each year, EU citizens and companies have to move some 3.5 million vehicles to another Member State, and need to get them registered according to the national legislation. However, what should be a simple registration procedure in the 21st century Single Market remains a cumbersome and lengthy administrative procedure because of the diversity of rules and the various conflicting requirements," the Commission said.
"It takes on average five weeks to complete the procedure and the cost is estimated at €400 for citizen and for businesses. Moreover, these problems also represent a significant barrier to the free movement of goods, services and workers, and therefore for growth and jobs creation in Europe. This is why the European Commission is acting today to dramatically reduce this unnecessary administrative burden," it added.
The proposal presented by Vice-President Antonio Tajani would lead to a very substantial administrative simplification with total savings of at least €1.5 billion per year for businesses, citizens and registration authorities.
The re-registration of vehicles coming from another EU country will be limited, for example citizens who work in another EU country using a car registered by their employer will not need to re-register it.
Generally administrative formalities for the re-registration within the EU of cars, vans, buses and trucks will be greatly simplified, for example when moving residence from one EU country to another and when purchasing a second hand car from another EU country.
It will also become impossible to register a stolen car in another EU country.
Car-rental companies will save substantially, as they will be able to transfer cars to another EU country during the holiday periods without re-registration.
The proposal put forward today means an improvement for persons who spend a part of the year in another EU country who are currently often requested to re-register their vehicle. The proposal introduces the principle that a car should be registered in the EU country where its owner lives, and that all other Member States may not ask her/him to register the car with them, even if the car owner spend a longer period there.
THE PROPOSAL IN DETAIL
When the proposal is adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, this will imply that:
Citizens who spend part of the year in a holiday residence in another EU country will not have to re-register their car there.
Citizens who move permanently to another EU country will have six months to re-register their car there.
Citizens who buy or sell a second-hand car in another EU country will not have to face additional technical controls and administrative problems.
Citizens who work in another EU country and use a car registered by their employer there will no longer have to register it in their home country.
Car-rental companies will be able to transfer cars to another EU country during the holiday periods without re-registration (e.g. keeping the same cars at the sea side during summer and in the Alps during the winter). This should lower the price of car rentals.
For companies, the same principle applies: the cars, buses, vans and trucks should be registered in the EU country where the main office is established, and other EU countries must accept this.
Registration authorities will increasingly cooperate with each other, making it easier to track stolen cars. It will become impossible to register a stolen car in another EU country.
Many controls will be abolished altogether, with authorities getting any technical information they need about the car directly from their colleagues in the country where it is already registered.
More details at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/single-market-goods/motor-vehicle-registration/index_en.htm